From dating Elvis Presley to marrying Caitlyn Jenner, Linda Thompson has lived quite the fascinating life and she's finally revealing all in her new memoir, A Little Thing Called Life.

In an exclusive excerpt shared with People, Thompson opens up about her marriage to Jenner and how it all imploded when Jenner confided her desire to transition from male to female back in 1985. Thompson kept Jenner's bombshell a secret from everyone for decades: including their two children, Brandon and Brody.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

"I am a woman trapped in a man's body," Jenner told Thompson back in 1985, to which Thompson replied: "Whoa, Bruce, honey, have you looked in a mirror? You are the epitome of the ideal man!"

Jenner explained: "I have lived in the wrong body my whole life. It is a living hell, and I really would like to move forward with the process of becoming a woman."

As Thompson tried to process Jenner's revelation, the couple entered therapy to try to work through the issue to no avail.

Thompson recalls, "As we tried to work through our feelings, Bruce told me he was considering traveling out of the country, possibly to Denmark, to try to have the gender reassignment surgery anonymously and then come back as a female. 'What about our children?'" she asked.

Jenner reportedly considered leaving his sons lives and re-entering as a female relative, "He was grasping for a lifeline. As devastated as I was, my heart bled for Bruce," Thompson writes in the new book.

While Jenner hoped the couple could stay married even after her transition, Thompson knew their relationship was over. She continued to keep Jenner's gender identity a secret from their sons Brandon and Brody until they were 31 and 29 years old, "I wanted them to experience enough life and garner enough knowledge, confidence and compassion to be able to deal with their father's true self."

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Harper's BAZAAR participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means Harper's BAZAAR gets paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites.